95588: His father denies that prayer is obligatory and reviles the Sahaabah. What is the ruling concerning him, and how should he interact with him?

Praise be to Allaah Who has guided us and blessed us with the blessing of Islam. I started to become religiously committed a few months ago, but my father is opposing me in that. My father does not pray, because he does not acknowledge that prayer is obligatory. He even reviles some of the Sahaabah and speaks against ‘Aa’ishah, and he speaks ill of some of the righteous such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah. He doubts any hadeeth and he favours the Shi’ah. He treats me, my mother and my siblings badly, and he even mistreats my mother and humiliates her. He does not let my younger brother go to the mosque on the grounds that he should study, and he does not let me speak to my siblings about religious matters. He does not like anyone to advise him, and he cannot bear to listen to Qur’aan or to religious programs, and he thinks they are tools of misguidance. Every time he sees me watching a religious programme, he changes the channel.
What is the Islamic ruling concerning him? How can I deal with him? Please note that I treat him kindly, praise be to Allaah, and I pray for him, but he mistreats me and humiliates me, and he tells my siblings that I am a terrorist, and he encourages them to listen to music and not to watch religious programs or listen to me.
I hope that you can answer my question. May Allaah reward you with good.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

We ask Allaah to increase your reward for the hardship that
you are going through, and we ask Him to guide your father before his life
ends.

As for the ruling on your father, he has done and said things
some of which imply that he is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam, so
how about if they are taken all together? That includes not praying even if
that is due to laziness, and denying that prayer is obligatory. These two
things constitute kufr and put one beyond the pale of Islam. With regard to
the former, according to the correct scholarly view, that applies even if
one does not pray because of laziness, and the latter is something on which
there is scholarly consensus. There is no difference of opinion concerning
the fact that the one who does not pray because he denies that it is
obligatory is a kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam.

The scholars are unanimously agreed that the one who does not
pray and denies that it is obligatory is a kaafir, and that he should be
executed as a kaafir if he does not repent.

Adwa’ al-Bayaan (4/335).

Your father is not failing to pray because he is lazy, rather
he is failing to pray because he denies that it is obligatory. Even if he
failed to pray due to laziness he would still be a kaafir, so how about if
does not pray because he denies that it is obligatory?

As for his reviling some of the Sahaabah, it seems that he
only spares some of the Sahaabah and reviles some of the others. It seems to
us from your question that your father is a believer in the evil Raadifi
school of thought, which accuses the Sahaabah of being apostates apart from
a very few of them. This means that they are kaafirs, and those scholars who
did not rule that they are kaafirs ruled that they should be imprisoned
until they repent or die.

1 – Reviling them by saying that most of them were kaafirs or
that all of them were evildoers. This is kufr because it is a rejection of
the praise of Allaah and His Messenger for them and their approval of them.
The one who doubts that such a person is a kaafir is himself a kaafir,
because this view implies that those who transmitted the Qur’aan and Sunnah
were kaafirs or evildoers.

2 – If he reviles them by cursing them, then there are two
scholarly views as to whether he is a kaafir. According to the view that he
is not a kaafir, he is still to be flogged and imprisoned until he dies or
recants what he said.

3 – If he reviles them in a way that does not reach the level
of doubting their religious commitment, such as saying that they were
cowardly or miserly. He is not a kaafir, but he should be given a
disciplinary punishment (ta’zeer) to serve as a deterrent. This was stated
by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah in al-Saarim al-Maslool, where he
narrates on p. 573 that Ahmad said: It is not permissible for anyone to
mention any of their bad qualities or to criticize any of them for a fault
or shortcoming. Whoever does that should be disciplined, then if he repents
all well and good, otherwise he should be flogged in prison until he dies or
recants.

Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(5/83, 84).

One of the implications of criticizing the Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) is that one is criticizing the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and Islam, and the Lord of
mankind, may He be glorified and exalted.

Reviling the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) is
not only an insult against the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them),
rather it is an insult against the Sahaabah, against the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), against the laws of Allaah and against
Allaah Himself, may He be glorified and exalted.

-
As for its being an insult
against the Sahaabah, that is clear.

-
As for its being an insult
against the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), that is by suggesting that his companions, confidants and successors
as rulers of his ummah were among the worst of people.

It is also an insult against the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in another sense, which is that
it is a rejection of what he said about their virtues and good qualities.

-
As for it being an insult
against the laws of Allaah, that is because the intermediaries in the
transmission of the sharee’ah from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) to us were the Sahaabah. If they were not
of good character, then the sharee’ah that they transmitted cannot be
trusted either.

-
As for it being an insult
against Allaah, may He be glorified, that is by suggesting that He sent His
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the worst of
mankind and chose them to be his companions and to convey his sharee’ah to
the ummah.

Look at the serious issues that are implied by reviling the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them).

We disavow the way of these Raafidis who revile and hate the
Sahaabah. We believe that loving the Sahaabah is obligatory and that
refraining from speaking ill of them is obligatory. Our hearts – praise be
to Allaah – are filled with love for them, because of the faith and piety
that they had, and because they spread knowledge and supported the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

And we disavow the ways of the Naasibis (such as the
Khawaarij) who revile the Ahl al-Bayt in word or deed.

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(8/616).

So it comes as no surprise that the scholars of Islam
described as a heretic everyone who criticized the companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The imam of his age, Abu Zar’ah al-Raazi – one of the
greatest of Muslim shaykhs – said: If you see a man criticizing any of the
companions of the Messenger of Allaah, then you should know that he is a
heretic, because the Messenger is true, the Qur'aan is true, and what he
brought is true. All of that was transmitted to us by the Sahaabah, so
whoever criticizes them is intending to prove that the Qur’aan and Sunnah
are false. So he is the one who most deserves to be criticized and the
ruling that he is a heretic who has gone astray and is a liar and evildoer
is more apt.

Al-Sawaa’iq al-Muhriqah (2/608).

The same may be said about slandering the Mother of the
Believers ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) – the one who does that
is a kaafir and apostate.

If the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) are not safe from a person, then the imams of guidance
who came after them will not be safe from him either, such as the Taabi’een
and those who followed them, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah. By
reviling the Sahaabah and criticizing their religious commitment, he has
proven that he follows a religion other than ours.

Secondly:

As for how to deal with your father:

You have to use different ways of explaining the truth to him
and strive to guide him. Do not despair or give up. By his beliefs, words
and actions he has gone out of Islam altogether, but you have to do what you
think is best for him. We advise you to do several things such as the
following:

1-
You have to disavow his
beliefs, words and deeds.

2-
Be gentle in conveying the
truth to him.

3-
Use various means of calling
him and explaining the truth to him. There are debates that have taken place
between Ahl al-Sunnah and the Raafidis, in which they were roundly defeated.
So you can make use of them to convince him to watch and listen to them.
There are also audio tapes and books that may suffice to call those who
criticize the Sahaabah and refute their specious arguments.

4-
Strive not to let your father
influence your mother and siblings, so that the influence of kufr and
apostasy will not spread any further.

5-
Defend yourself by means of
your good attitude and good manners with him and your family.

6-
Do not despair about him being
guided, and continue to call him, either directly or through others of Ahl
al-Sunnah whom you know and trust.

7-
Always pray for him and choose
good times such as the last third of the night, and good situations, such as
when prostrating in prayer.

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:

How should we deal with a man who reviles the three
companions?

They replied:

The companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the best of this ummah, whom Allaah
praised in His Book. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhaajiroon and
the Ansaar and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allaah is
well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared
for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein
forever. That is the supreme success”

[al-Tawbah 9:100]

“Indeed, Allaah was pleased with the believers when they
gave the Bay‘ah (pledge) to you (O Muhammad صلى
الله عليه وسلم) under the tree, He knew what was in their hearts, and
He sent down As‑Sakeenah (calmness and tranquillity) upon them, and He
rewarded them with a near victory”

[al-Fath 48:18]

And there are other verses in which Allaah praises the
Sahaabah and promises them admittance to Paradise. Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan
and ‘Ali are among the foremost to embrace Islam and those who swore
allegiance (bay’ah) to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) under the tree. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) himself swore allegiance on behalf of ‘Uthmaan [who had been sent
as a envoy to negotiate with Quraysh in Makkah] which was testimony in his
favour and a sign of his trust in him, and this oath of allegiance was
stronger than the oath of others to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), according to many ahaadeeth, especially the oath of Abu
Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali. They were given the glad tidings of Paradise
along with a number of other Sahaabah, and the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against reviling them, as he said:
“Do not revile my companions, for if one of you were to spend the equivalent
of (Mount) Uhud in gold, that would not equal the mudd of one of
them, or even half of it.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh via Abu
Hurayrah and Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri. Al-Bukhaari also narrated it from Abu
Hurayrah.

The one who reviles or insults the companions of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
especially the three: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan, who are asked about
here, has gone against the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger,
and has contradicted them by reviling them. He will be deprived of the
forgiveness which Allaah has promised to those who follow them and pray for
forgiveness for them and pray to Allaah not to allow hatred in their hearts
towards the believers.

Because of his criticism of these three and their like, he
must be advised and told of their virtue and status, and their seniority in
Islam. If he repents, then he is one of our brothers in faith, but if he
persists in reviling them, then he must be disciplined, whilst paying
attention to the shar’i policy of denouncing according to what one is able
to do; the one who is unable to denounce with his tongue or hand (i.e., by
speaking out or taking action) must do so with his heart, but this is the
weakest of faith, as is proven in the saheeh hadeeth.

Fataawa Islamiyyah (1/12).

We ask Allaah to help you in your efforts and to make you
steadfast in adhering to the truth, and to guide your father.